Dark Harbor Poem by Chuck Bryant

Where has she gone
with her lamp held high
beckoning outcasts who would live free or die?

There, in the east!
What? She stands as if caged...
her eyes remain steady yet her heart's disengaged

Once revered by the nation
(those who would not be ruled)
but her people grew weaker and now they are fooled

“Liberty! ” they greet her
for they seem well acquainted
but she views them as strangers, with her wisdom untainted

While yet in her youth
the year nineteen thirteen
she was tied to an altar by hands so unclean

As freedoms were stolen
from that day to this
her children sat idle and did not resist

Now forced into shadows
for one hundred years
she stands in the harbor imprisoned by fears

She waits for the hour
for her torch reignited
by the courage of people from a nation united

When truth is revealed
from the flame in her eyes
those who once chained her will see their demise

And the elegant lady
once more we'll defend
and her principled nation will rise once again